Sunday, March 31, 2013

I’ll
apologize in advance since this post is probably not applicable to most of my
readers. However, I figured this
platform was best for discussing my experience as a vegan on my Birthright trip
to Israel. Overall, I’m glad I
participated in this experience, but it was a rough ten days for a number of
reasons.

Firstly,
some basics if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Birthright is a program funded mainly through
private donations and some Israeli government money that takes Jews aged 18-26
to Israel for ten days, if they have never visited before or after the age of
12. Obviously there are some expenses
the participant must cover, but these are very small considering airfare,
ground transportation, and accommodation are covered. There is one Birthright program but many
groups that take people on this program.
I went with a URJ Kesher Group (Union for Reform Judaism).

Food

Before
departure, I filled out paperwork stating very exactly what I could not eat as
vegan expecting that simply stating that I was vegan would be confusing. I was told that this information would be
sent to all the appropriate places to make sure my food needs would be taken care
of. I even confirmed this over the phone
during one of my interviews.

However,
two days out from departure I was talking to my American staff leader for the
first time to clarify what I couldn’t eat and not do because of my vegan values,
and he told me he had received no information on my dietary restrictions. I told him what I had written down
assuming/hoping/expecting him to transfer this information to the appropriate
people since it had obviously failed the original time. Note to you: assume your American staff
actually has no power over anything.

I
show up at LAX and, for some reason I can’t remember, it came to my attention
that the program probably hadn’t reserved me meals I could eat on the 13.5 hour
flight. I immediately went up to both
American staff members to figure out what was going on, but they did nothing
besides make excuses. I was told El Al
doesn’t have vegan meals, and it was too late to order a special meal. Well, yes, El Al does have vegan meals
[link]. If they had sent me my flight
information or even told me I had to reserve this meal myself I would have
gladly done it before hand. However, I
was told this would all be done for me.

Other
people in my group with special meals received theirs with no personal
interventions. One girl in my group was
nice enough to give me her vegetarian meal that she ordered even though she
wasn’t vegetarian, but that was only one meal near the end of the flight. The rest of the flight I ate trail mix, the
horrible little airplane salad, and water.

In
Israel, there are vegan options at every meal, but these options are always salad,
hummus, and olives. If I had been able
to eat out more often I could have gotten better food, but the group picks
where you eat, and they like hotel buffets.
On days out, it’s always easy to find a falafel stand or an Aroma, which
clearly marks their vegan items and has an English menu. I even managed to find vegan sorbet at a
mall! If you’re unsure where to go or
what to eat, just ask someone. Don’t
feel bad about passing on challah or anything else.

Animals

Apparently
the highlight of this trip for a lot of participants (I don’t know why) is
riding camels at the Bedouin tents. I
avoid circuses and other industries where animals are used for profit because
they are usually rampant with animal abuse on top of already being
inappropriate environments for the animal (seriously look at all the continual animal
abuse fines for Barnum and Bailey Circus).
The two other vegans in my group decided to ride the camels, but by that
night, confided that they were feeling guilty about it.

Just
by looking at the camels, I could tell a few of them and one in particular weren’t
in the best shape. People in my group
asked why I wasn’t riding and seemed generally supportive of my feelings. Later that night we walked into the desert
farther away from the camp but still no more than a 15 minute walk away. In the dark of night, my group quite
literally walked into a camel carcass. I
wouldn’t bet money on this merely being a coincidence.

We
also had an optional excursion on a free Shabbat to walk around a kibbutz. The kibbutz we toured actually turned out to
be in the dairy industry. So we saw the
mother cows caged and wallowing in their own feces and the veal calves chained
up a few feet away. People will make
nasty, uncouth jokes as they try to rationalize that what they’re seeing is
what they’ll be eating later. The
kibbutz also had a greenhouse and other interesting features so it wasn’t a
complete bust for me just not the best choice.

There
are cats everywhere in Israel.
Seriously, everywhere. Cats are the
Israeli squirrels. You will be tempted
by the cute especially because they look slightly different than cats here. However, everyone will treat you like you’re
crazy if you feed or play with them.
Also be careful because they are feral cats without vaccinations. As my group medic was playing with another
cat, he told me if I got scratched the program wasn’t responsible. I always washed my hands after handling the
cats just in case.

Pro Tips

·I
brought Clif bars with me and it ended up being the smartest thing I could have
done vegan or not. The days are packed
with physical activities and travel and you are (possibly purposely) not given enough
time for a solid night of sleep. Add this
in with only eating salad most of the time and you can see why I was exhausted. These made great snacks while we were out and
about and for my flight out of Israel.

·In
Israel, people don’t discuss food as vegetarian, paleo, vegan, etc. but rather
in kosher terms. Ask if food is
parve. Parve food doesn’t have meat or
dairy ingredients although it may contain eggs.
Understanding what is vegan anyways, it was easy to avoid eggs. People speak English to varying degrees so
you can ask. However, if I wasn’t sure about
an item from past experience I avoided it.

·If
you stay in Israel after, make sure to go to a market before sundown on
Friday. Everything will close for
Shabbat, and I wanted to be sure I had vegan food. Also happycow where you will be visiting.

·Non-Vegan
tip: Everyone (man/woman, Israeli/Palestinian, Adult/teenager, Muslim/Jewish/Christian)
will want to talk to you or rather talk at you when they learn you’re foreign
and especially if they think you’re American.
Just listen. Don’t try to have a conversation. I don’t think they actually want an equal
conversation. They just want you to hear
what they have to say.

I hope that was somewhat helpful to any
vegans considering going on birthright!
I just wanted to voice my experience because it was more difficult than
others I had read about. I will also
have another post on food from my travels through Israel and Europe coming up
soon!

Monday, March 18, 2013

***EDIT*** Too Faced has recently lost its Leaping Bunny Approval and therefore no longer meets my requirements to be a cruelty free brand.

A while ago the most
adorable makeup collection from Too Faced was pinned on Pinterest by Grace
(cosmeticcouturier on YouTube). While,
no, I will not be digging into my bank account to purchase these products
(everything is now exclusively earmarked for grad school), I’m interested in
eventually trying out their BB cream (Beauty Balm) which is vegan and looks as
though it might be light enough for me.
I’ve heard that Too Faced is cruelty free, but I wanted to double check
especially to make sure the company met my cruelty free standards. So I sent off an email March 6, 2013.

To whom it may
concern:

I have some further
questions about Too Faced's animal testing policies. I was very happy to
see that the FAQ section listed vegan products and already has PETA
certification, however, I prefer to use the Leaping Bunny guide which has more
stringent requirements to be considered cruelty free. Does Too Faced test
ingredients or finished products on animals or have a third party do so on
their behalf? Does Too Faced have a parent company, and, if so, is their
animal testing policies the same as Too Faced's? Does Too Faced direct
sell to China or any other area which requires or reserves the right to animal
test products?

Thank you!

Response from Too Faced on March 7,
2013:

Thank you for contacting us. In answer
to your questions, no, we do not test ingredients or finished products on
animals, nor do any of our labs do so on our behalf. We do not sell to China
for this exact reason of your concern and will not do so as long as it is
required to test on animals. We, like you, feel very strongly about the
well-being of all of our furry friends, and will continue to reflect our
beliefs in all of our behaviors beginning with the creation of our formulas all
the way to the end product and where it is sold. P.S. We are in the process of the
Leaping Bunny approval, so stay tuned and stay Too Faced!

Also,
the Too Faced website’s FAQ section had the above to say about their animal
testing policies. Here, they list their
vegan friendly products as well. This is great since a lot of ingredients can
be plant or animal based and many labels do not differentiate the two.

First
of all, I’m excited that Too Faced is attempting to get Leaping Bunny
certification for their business! While
they did not answer whether Leaping Bunny was a subsidiary or not I already
assumed from earlier research that it was not.
I’m glad they answered the rest of questions clearly.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The
European Union ban on animal tested products has survived all its opponents and
is now going into effect! This is
definitely a wonderful milestone for animals and a great accomplishment for our
cruelty free community. The demands to
end animal testing and selective shopping does affect the marketplace. However, let me be realistic and say this
does not mean we can forget about emailing companies and looking for leaping
bunny logos.

As this is an EU
ban, you can only count on this affecting sales in the European Union for the
moment.Hopefully, international
companies will stop animal testing in an effort to make only one kind of
product that can be sold internationally.This may not wind up being the case though.

Products can be
sold in the EU if a company does not test its products or ingredients but sells
to a country that tests on its own, such as China.

In the flurry of
articles on this ban, there have been many articles which include notorious
animal rights abusers as suddenly going cruelty free.I am very wary of this and beg everyone to
email these companies to double check before purchasing from them (check out my
guide on email companies here).

Obviously, those
of use looking for vegan products still need to check ingredient lists since
this ban only affects animal testing.

Remember:
This is a new adventure, and we are all getting acclimated and learning what to
look out for. Below are some links to
articles about the EU ban from some fellow cruelty free bloggers and sources that I
respect.

Friday, March 1, 2013

On
my recent travels, I encountered many people with monstrously huge bags. I was traveling with a group for the first
ten days of my trip, and most of these people would only be traveling a grand
total of ten days. However, they had
brought humongous suitcases packed full plus a decent sized carry on. I had a suitcase that met the dimensions to
be a carry on… and a purse, a regular sized purse. My suitcase ended up being searched by the
TSA because an agent for the airline couldn’t believe I would be gone for
almost two months with such a tiny bag.

Traveling
this lightly is apparently a feat in and of itself but factoring in that I only
use cruelty free toiletry items made it nominally more awesome. I would often replace or pick up new beauty
and hygiene products as I traveled in the past but no more. What would happen if I ran out of cruelty
free toothpaste in Israel or my deodorant in France (this one actually happened
on previous travels… never buy French deodorant!)? I would have no idea where to buy often
obscure cruelty free toiletries if they are available at all. As it is, I purchase most of my items through
vitacost.

There
are many, many resources for packing lightly and intelligently but hopefully
someone will find my two cents helpful.

1. Pack multitasking and solid products

This
is a great space saving idea in general but is especially important if you are
flying with a carry on. Since the amount
of liquids you can carry on is very limited, make sure you bring items that
multitask to save space. For example, I packed
my small bottle of Argan Oil instead of bringing two separate containers of
hair conditioner and hand crème. Also, if you have a solid version of a
product, such as deodorant or shampoo, pack that instead.

2. Pack lots of what you can’t live without

I
can’t live without Qtips and chapstick.
Therefore I packed a fistful of Qtips and 4-5 chapsticks (I’m loving the
Hurraw! brand if you haven’t check out their products yet!). Chances are that I may not find a cruelty
free/vegan brand while traveling, and these are products I know I would have to
purchase to preserve my sanity if I lost or ran out of them during my travels. Ladies, pack your cruelty free
tampons/pads/cups etc. since these are definitely a must have.

3. You need to pack fewer clothes than you think

A)
I wash my clothes as I travel to save
space. Are you visiting family on your
travels? Wash your clothes at their
house. Hotels and hostels have laundry
facilities for varying prices. Cities
have Laundromats. If you’re traveling
with others, combine your loads and split the cost. Most places offer detergent and dryer sheets,
but they aren’t cruelty free. Shove some Seventh Generation laundry detergent
packs and dryer sheets in your bag. For
reference, I was gone seven weeks and only did four loads. I probably could have gotten away with three
because I used undershirts.

B) As I history person, I was watching a
documentary on British hygiene in Elizabethan England. Their elaborate outer clothes were never or
rarely washed but the white, ruffled underclothes were changed daily. These soaked up all the sweat and protected
the outer clothes. So, I packed a few
tank tops and too thin long sleeved shirts to wear under my clothes. These thin, small garments allowed me to re-wear
clothing more often rather than packing extra bulkier shirts.

4.Vegans,
pack food!

Happycow
where you will be traveling and usually you will find many options. However, it is never bad to be prepared
especially since I knew I was heading a few places with limited food options. I bought a bunch of Clif Bars before I left
and jammed them into the crevices and corners of my bag.

When
traveling with the group, there were vegan options but the options weren’t
varied enough to keep my happy or provide all the nutrients I needed. These were a great boost plus a good snack
since the group would often have five to six hours between breakfast and
lunch. You may want to look into food
options on planes since I didn’t and obviously had a rough time with it.

Clif
Bars served as my emergency snacks on planes, trains, and automobiles. I was traveling internationally and had no
problem bringing these. I assume all
packaged foods are fine and one girl in my group actually flew from L.A. to Tel
Aviv with fresh fruit on her (although I would not advise this).

Do you have any other vegan and cruelty
free travel tips? Please share!

This year I became completely obsessed (well as
obsessed as I generally become) with Starbuck’s soy chai latte. However, this can be an expensive habit and
attempts to concoct an at home version failed.
Incidentally I discovered another wonderful and simple hot beverage
while traveling on the West Coast. I was
staying at a B&B which offered a large selection of tea 24/7. One morning, I brewed up peppermint tea,
added a sprinkle of sugar, and a splash of coconut milk…et voila! I know!
I know! Simple, unoriginal, and I love it.

Hurraw! Lipbalms

I
believe I discovered these amazing lipbalms by reading a vegnews article on
must have vegan products. This truly is
a must have product. I purchased the
intensely moisturizing Night Treatment Balm and Black Cherry Tinted Balm. The Night Treatment Balm, on top of being the
most moisturizing lip balm I’ve ever put on my lips, is organic, vegan, and has
a heavenly scent of “blue chamomile vanilla.”
The cherry balm has a nice subtle tint.
I liked to use it while flying because it is moisturizing in the dry,
gross airplane air and helps add a bit of color to my face. Downside:
I wish they had SPF protection and then they would be perfect. [Link]

Elf’s Mineral Infused Mascara

I
have finally found my new favorite mascara.
I wore this everyday on my trip and I don’t think I’ll every switch to
another formulation now. It creates a
very Downton Abbey eye by providing obvious definition and lengthening of
lashes while keeping a natural look. It
was pretty easy to build up as well if necessary plus it is amazingly inexpensive. Downside: I'm checking on whether this product is vegan now since a few of its ingredients can be both animal and plant derived. [Link]

Pumpkin and Poppy’s Lady of Light Highlighter

This
was included in my first purchase from Kristy’s amazing makeup company. I really love this highlighter since it is
very natural, easy to use, and is vegan!
I was slightly nervous about the color because I am so pale but I find
it to be very flattering. I can’t imagine
getting ready in the morning without this product now. [Link]